July 03, 2009
Can leaders still learn?
What an interesting question.
During this training program in Langkawi/ Malaysia, some leaders in the initial part of the training mentioned that actually they do not know if they can learn something.
They are so long on the job. They have seen it all. Mergers, acquisitions, retrenchments, strategic diversification, miscommunication and so on.
They came to my training to, on the one hand have fun. But they were curious and wanted to see what we have to offer.
I was told before that these leaders sometimes walked out of training when nothing new happened, or their curiosity wasn't matched.
Talk about raising expecatations.
As usual, and based on the advise of my mentors, such as Tad James or Shelle Rose Charvet, I start the training slow, even outside of the sphere of NLP.
Our training is different, and as such, any transformation, or experience, needs to be introduced carefully. So we start with fun, and activities, before the "real training" and the journey into the mind starts.
A result of today's training?
Everybody stayed, from senior management to manager. One of the Deputy GMs mentioned that he learned something today.
It is about learning, and sharing and just about the right mixture of meeting expectations and putting on pressure.
Tomorrow is another day.
But yes, a resounding yes - leaders can still learn. Anyone can learn something, anything they want. What have you learned today?
We then go back to Kuala Lumpur, with a meeting on Sunday.
From next week onwards, wow, I will be busy, as I run two NLP Practitioner Training simultaneously. But this is another story.
Stay tuned!
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Public Programmes: Asia Mind Dynamics organises new courses for those interested to become NLP Practitioners, NLP Coaches, Hypnotists or those that intend to gain a better position in the crisis or want to simply improve their influence and communication skills
For more information, follow these links:
To learn about Asia Mind Dynamics: click here.
To learn more about our Advanced Coaching Programme, click here
To learn more about the Language and Behaviour Profile (LAB Profile) - Words That Change Minds Certification, click here
To register for any of these courses, click here.
To learn more about Asia Mind Dynamics, click here
Posted by Andreas at 07:57 PM | Comments (0)
June 27, 2009
Creating Great Training Programmes
As a trainer, it is also my job to formulate training programmes, customised to the needs of an organisation. This is the exciting part of my job, aside of the actual training.
It is not just about taking material from here and there and then plucking it into a PowerPoint Presentation or Word Document.
But to me, it also is something else:
- It is the predetermined energy that I put in that determines the outcome of the training. This might have been the reason why I recently got so much applause from my participants as they experience their own transformation.
- It is the fun to creatively imagine the flow of the presentation and the impact that the different learning modules have on the participants. Imagining the setup of the exercises.
- Imagining the exercises and their precise finetuning. You see, I take a lot of stuff from my NLP material that I have. A lot of it is more tailored to working the exercises with individuals. Now, in my work with organisations, individual work is not always possible as the groups want to experience group work. As such, I have to modify some exercises to fit their needs and while I do this, I make so many dramatic changes that I get totally excited about it.
- It is the ability to foresee how the stuff will stretch the participants out from their comfort zone into something new. This new one must be so exciting that they want to stay there and not go back to their old habits. It must be so exciting that they take the learning back to their corporate world and against old odds and habits, and actually start implementing it and then, teach it to others.
When I then enter the training room, and start teaching the material, I do it with excitement and passion. Everything, as I imagined it earlier in my mind, is going to roll out.
Sometimes, especially when it is very new stuff, I doubt their effectiveness initially. Especially when it is a group that is not that easily "activated". Thoughts run through my mind like - "will it work?" until I reach the point when I see them getting it. And then, the fun begins. The mutual harmony, the cooperation, the transformation - the fun of my job.
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Public Programmes: Asia Mind Dynamics organises new courses for those interested to become NLP Practitioners, NLP Coaches, Hypnotists or those that intend to gain a better position in the crisis or want to simply improve their influence and communication skills
For more information, follow these links:
To learn about Asia Mind Dynamics: click here.
To learn more about our Advanced Coaching Programme, click here
To learn more about the Language and Behaviour Profile (LAB Profile) - Words That Change Minds Certification, click here
To register for any of these courses, click here.
To learn more about Asia Mind Dynamics, click here
Posted by Andreas at 06:43 PM | Comments (0)
June 26, 2009
Michael Jackson died this morning
Sad to hear that Michael Jackson is dead. I'm not the greatest fan,but fondly remember & sing along to songs like "Thriller", "Bad", "You Are not Alone".
I actually believe that he is comparable to Elvis Presley, The Beatles, may be even Queen (hey - they are my favourites) in the way that he made imprints on the music industry, and us as users.
He changed the way music is played, made music videos fashionable and touched probably most of the world's population in one way or another.
Rest his soul in peace!
(Picture taken from Sole Navigator)
What are your memories of him - how did he impress you?
My most vivid one is Thriller. I drove Taxi during my student's time in Frankfurt, at night.
The shift went from 6.00 PM in the evening to 6.00 AM in the morning. On my way back to the station, they played Thriller.
As the song faded and culminated in the final devilish laughter, and because the two-way radio traffic was quiet at that point of time, I played the song loud, and pressed the microphone so that every taxi in the city on that radiowave could hear the laughter.
Once completed, I said - "This is my Good Night to all the drivers that are still circling the city in search of customers."
Great response!!
Posted by Andreas at 08:29 AM | Comments (0)
June 15, 2009
Employee Engagement and Monday morning
Employee engagement.
It's definition varies but it basically means that employees are so happy with their work at their current employer that they go beyond the call of duty. They are productive, contribute, talk highly about their company and would not hesitate to recommend others to work for the same company.
Now, nothing against employee engagement, and I think it is important for companies to take care of employees. A non-productive, dis-satisfied, disengaged employee is kind of dangerous to the overall performance of an organisation.
But first of all, I believe that no employee starts with a company and is dis-engaged at day one. They all come in as newly recruits - highly powered up, totally motivated, and ready to assist the company to get to greater heights.
Only over time, and due to a variety of reasons is their engagement wearing down.
But even a high performing, and totally engaged employee can still be disengaged at various stages throughout the week.
So I am just curious.
How is someones engagement level on a Monday? On a Tuesday? Wednesday, Thursday or Friday?
Would someone know the answer?
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Public Programmes: Asia Mind Dynamics organises new courses for those interested to become NLP Practitioners, NLP Coaches, Hypnotists or those that intend to gain a better position in the crisis or want to simply improve their influence and communication skills
For more information, follow these links:
To learn about Asia Mind Dynamics: click here.
To learn more about our Advanced Coaching Programme, click here
To learn more about the Language and Behaviour Profile (LAB Profile) - Words That Change Minds Certification, click here
To register for any of these courses, click here.
To learn more about Asia Mind Dynamics, click here
For companies, interested to know more about in-houses courses, click here.
Alternatively, send an email to andreas.dorn AT gmail.com or najwadorn AT yahoo.com or call 012-287 5048 (Andreas) or Najwa (012-3276 048) for a discussion about your needs and requirements.
See you soon!
Posted by Andreas at 12:27 PM | Comments (0)
June 12, 2009
1.5 days of training wonderful people
I just came back from a wonderful bunch of highly energised people that really look forward to applying the learning of NLP in their job.
They are in a lifestyle incentive programme company, offering great programmes to their individual and corporate customers.
Their challenge was to get a mindset of excellence in sales. They were all great salespeople before. But somehow, there was always a bit of fear in them, and the question mark - "who am I to sell this product to people", or "how do I approach people and how do I manage rejection?".
Parts of the training taught them how to manage their physiology, their inner thoughts, mental imprints and emotional mastery to gain confidence and excellence. It was wonderful to see, how the group transformed. They became more and more energised as we went along.
Today, this morning, we focused on ways to influence and persuade others. To do so, we took a few parts of the Language and Behaviour Profile - Words That Change Minds Programme - that identifies the relevant mental patterns in the person that you talk to.
The questions that we answered were:
- How do you identify someones values?
- How is somewhat getting motivated through the values - by pain or by gain.
- What are the inner standards of someone? Do they need external feedback to get convinced that something is good? Or do they have internal standards and just know what is good for them?
And what kind of convincing do they need? Do they get convinced when the see, hear, feel or experience the product and service to buy it?
For all the exercises, we taught the right words to address this mental pattern. This makes this programme so extremely powerful, as it has nothing to do with hypnotic language patterns but addresses the deepest unconscious filters of how someone looks at the world and acts in it.
The participants were so enthusiastic about the programme that Najwa and I received standing ovations!! Wow! One participant asked the CEO, when the follow up training would be conducted.
These are wonderful reactions and if you guys read any of these, I want to thank you for your great participation.
Public Programmes: Asia Mind Dynamics organises new courses for those interested to become NLP Practitioners, NLP Coaches, Hypnotists or those that intend to gain a better position in the crisis or want to simply improve their influence and communication skills
For more information, follow these links:
To learn about Asia Mind Dynamics: click here
To learn more about the Language and Behaviour Profile (LAB Profile) - Words That Change Minds Certification, click here
To learn about the Certified NLP Practitioner and Certified Timeline Therapy™ Techniques Training, click here.
To register for any of these courses, click here.
Posted by Andreas at 05:41 PM | Comments (0)
June 06, 2009
Be the change
Michael Jackson sang:
"I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change."
While I do not like Michael too much (only a few songs), I like this quote. What's your take?
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Public Programmes: Asia Mind Dynamics organises new courses for those interested to become NLP Practitioners, NLP Coaches, Hypnotists or those that intend to gain a better position in the crisis or want to simply improve their influence and communication skills
For more information, follow these links:
To learn Certified NLP Practitioner and Certified Timeline Therapy™ Techniques Training, click here.
To learn more about our Advanced Coaching Programme, click here
To learn more about the Language and Behaviour Profile (LAB Profile) - Words That Change Minds Certification, click here
To register for any of these courses, click here.
To learn more about Asia Mind Dynamics, click here
For companies, interested to know more about in-houses courses, click here.
Alternatively, send an email to andreas.dorn AT gmail.com or najwadorn AT yahoo.com or call 012-287 5048 (Andreas) or Najwa (012-3276 048) for a discussion about your needs and requirements.
See you soon!
Posted by Andreas at 09:57 PM | Comments (0)
Susan Boyle and her Lessons for Leadership
Have you heard of Susan Boyle? May be not but her story is worthwhile relating as there is an interesting leadership lesson in her rise to become a star.
She was the singing sensation on a British television talent contest. When she first appeared on the show, you could see the audience cringe. The judges, amongst them Simon Cowell, known also from American Idol, rolled their eyes.
Then, when she started to sing, everybody gasped and was amazed about the beauty of her voice.
When I saw her video on YouTube (her song was downloaded 200 million times), I was also blasted away as well. I started to wonder, why it took so long for her to come out.
There is a leadership lesson here.
Do you know the talents around you? How many talents are hidden in organisations and not discovered? May be they gave up a while ago, may be they were never really challenged or may be they were pushed aside one time too many.
How many talents are not discovered for whatever reasons. How many could contribute to your company, to society, or even to friends around them, but they believe that they are not worthwhile doing this.
But the story about Susan Boyle is not yet finished.
In the finals of the show, she was the favourite. But her behaviour became erratic already a week before the final show. She cracked during the finals and became the runner-up. Disappointment was written all over her face.
Next thing I heard, she was in the hospital. Due to mental and emotional exhaustion.
Isn't this another leadership lesson?
How many times do we promote or hire people who are not ready to take on bigger roles and more responsibilities. They have been trained in all the technicalities. Delegation skills, time management, may be even a short course on Emotional Intelligence. All nice and well because it is necessary. But then, who took care of the mindset involved. Getting a promotion and becoming a leader is a big step, don't you agree? It takes a totally different mindset to manage a different set of challenges.
Many newly appointed leaders crack, just like Susan Boyle. Some who have been promoted show sudden lack of confidence, low self-esteem, uncertainty, fear, and what not. In their head they have one mantra: "Who am I to be here?" "Do I really deserve this?" "What will happen if they find out that I am not that clever as it seems?"
These negative thoughts keep running and running and then, they become the self-fulfilling prophecy. Another leader, so promising before, that fails.
It seems so hard to identify these issues earlier.
In my NLP Trainings, many participants initially come with lack of confidence, or low self esteem. In my coaching sessions, there are many that are desperately trying to cope, running agains the wall, over and over again.
This is the lesson that Susan Boyle teaches us. We need to look out for the talents in our organisation. Those that are quietly doing their thing. Those that are on the way to give out. Those that are disengaged.
There is a need to support those that are going to get promoted.
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________________________________________________________________________________________
Public Programmes: Asia Mind Dynamics organises new courses for those interested to become NLP Practitioners, NLP Coaches, Hypnotists or those that intend to gain a better position in the crisis or want to simply improve their influence and communication skills
For more information, follow these links:
To learn Certified NLP Practitioner and Certified Timeline Therapy™ Techniques Training, click here.
To learn more about our Advanced Coaching Programme, click here
To learn more about the Language and Behaviour Profile (LAB Profile) - Words That Change Minds Certification, click here
To register for any of these courses, click here.
To learn more about Asia Mind Dynamics, click here
For companies, interested to know more about in-houses courses, click here.
Alternatively, send an email to andreas.dorn AT gmail.com or najwadorn AT yahoo.com or call 012-287 5048 (Andreas) or Najwa (012-3276 048) for a discussion about your needs and requirements.
See you soon!
Posted by Andreas at 09:12 PM | Comments (0)
